Free Speech Mentorn Media Olympics Poll July 2012

ComRes surveyed 500 16 to 25 year olds on their attitudes to the Olympics for the July programme of Free Speech for BBC 3 produced by Mentorn Media.

Date Published: 17 Jul 2012

Categories: Economy | Media | Public and communities | UK

Description

The vast majority of British 16-25-year-olds say they do not believe that the London 2012 Olympics will make them better off financially, according to a poll conducted for FREE SPEECH on BBC Three on Wednesday, July 18, at 8pm.

Eighty-six per cent of 500 16-25-year-olds disagree with the statement: “Overall, I think that the London 2012 Olympics will make me better off financially”; 10% agree and 4% don’t know.

ComRes surveyed 500 16-25-year-olds in Great Britain by telephone between 2nd and 12th July 2012. Respondents were sampled and weighted to be demographically representative of all GB adults aged 16-25.

Sixty-two per cent agree that money spent on the London 2012 Olympics would have been better spent elsewhere and 57% believe the Olympics will mainly benefit London and not the rest of the country; 41% disagreed with that view while 2% didn’t know.

Two thirds of young people from Scotland and the North (65%) say that the Olympics will mainly benefit London and not the rest of the country – a view shared by more than half (51%) of young people in the Midlands, East & Wales, and by 54% of young people from the South.

However, 73% agree that the Olympics will benefit the British economy and 71% agree that the Olympics make them feel proud to be British. Most 16-25-year-olds – 61% - agree they are excited about the Olympics, but 74% say the Olympics has not inspired them to take part in more sport.

ComRes comments: “Generally young people are positive towards the Olympics – they are excited about it, it makes them proud to be British, and they agree that there will be financial benefits to the country as a whole. However, young people do not think that it will benefit them personally in a financial sense, nor do they particularly think that it has encouraged them to take up more sport.”

FREE SPEECH is presented by Jake Humphrey from the Troxy Theatre in London’s East End. A studio audience of 120 local young people will question a panel that includes Education Minister John Hayes MP, Labour MP Rushanara Ali, Olympic bronze medal hurdler Tasha Danvers and Haringey youth worker Symeon Brown.

FREE SPEECH is a Mentorn Media production for the BBC.

Methodology: ComRes surveyed 500 16-25-year-olds in Great Britain by telephone between 2nd and 12th July 2012. Data were sampled and weighted to be demographically representative of all GB adults aged 16 to 25. ComRes is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules. Full data tables can be found at comres.co.uk